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My daughter recently used a Japanese word that I had never heard before: Chonmage/ちょんまげ. She learned the word from watching おかあさんといっしょ on TV. They were doing a musical number called ちょんまげマーチ… possibly my favorite song on the show, ever :) My daughter and I could listen to and dance to this song over and over and over. Click HERE to watch the video on YouTube! (Better do it quick though, as NHK has really strict copyright policies… my guess is that the video will be removed soon). Here are the lyrics to the song:

ちょんまげ ちょんまげ ちょんまげマーチ
ござるで ござるで ござるでござる

僕のあたまにちょんまげがあったら 朝のあいさつ
「おはようでござる！」

パパのあたまにちょんまげがあったら パパじゃなくって
「父上でござる！」

君のあたまにちょんまげがあったら さよならするとき
「さらばでござる！」

ちょんまげ ちょんまげ ちょんまげマーチ
ござるで ござるで ござるでござる

ちょんまげ ちょんまげ ちょんまげマーチ
ござるで ござるで ござるでござる

ちょんまげ ちょんまげ ちょんまげマーチ
ござるで ござるで ござるでござる

Here’s another, non-NHK version of the song in case the above link doesn’t work:

What is a chonmage? It is basically a little ponytail at the top of your head. Samurai warriors wore them, and sumo wrestlers wear them. Not the most flattering hairstyle in my opinion. But if you love it, you can buy a chonmage wig HERE, from urbanwig.com (available only in yen).

Did you already know this word? I love being a mom because I learn something new every day!

2 Responses to “ち：ちょんまげ (chonmage)”

Ahh… we miss watching that show. It’s always fun for the kids. My wife’s mother used to tape and send us copies all the time, but my son’s interests are turning more towards our local kids tv shows…i.e. non-Japanese. Zannen.

Study by Kana

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